


Ten Years

by July



Category: Homestuck
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-11
Updated: 2012-12-11
Packaged: 2017-11-20 21:12:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/589678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/July/pseuds/July
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Yeah. What, I mean, you’ve got cool purple hair and shit. And can I just take a wild guess and say you were probably on your way to your friend’s house to crash on his couch while he doesn’t actually want you there but he cares too much to let you live on the streets. And maybe you just wanted to stay downtown because, hey, it’s where all the cool people hang out, you have nothing but a good time there and...”</p>
<p>Eridan stared, silent as she told his story straight to his face. She continued.</p>
<p>“That was me about ten years ago. It’s not such a long time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ten Years

“Jesus, Fef, I’ll be fine,” Eridan snarled into his phone, exasperated from stressing the sentence one too many times. He stood at the bus stop underneath a small ledge saving him from very few raindrops hitting his head. He sighed as he anxiously looked down the street for the bus as Feferi babbled a reply to him on the other end. “Yeah, it’s okay. I’m... I’m staying at Kar’s for a bit and I’ll have the new place by the end of the week.” He swallowed down the guilt as she seemed to accept the lie on her end. She gave him a curt goodbye and he shut off the phone, sliding it into the pocket of his leather jacket. It was his first day of being evicted from his downtown bachelor apartment. It wasn’t like he hadn’t seen it coming; he had been behind on his rent for ages and the landlord had been more than lenient with him. Ever since his hours were cut down at the record shop, he had barely been able to afford living in the city. Sure, he could pay rent no problem, but the weight he had lost from skipping meals was hardly worth it. So he just let the rent slide, much to the distaste of the landlord. Kanaya had been too good to him, even going as far as to hook him up with a different, more affordable place. He hadn’t taken it out of his own stubbornness, taking advantage of her good will by overstaying his unpaid welcome.

So there he was there on the street, waiting for the bus to take him to Karkat and Sollux’s apartment where he would stay for god knew how long before he could find another place. Perhaps he would learn to take the opportunity for a reasonable place, as Karkat did not possess nearly as much patience as Kanaya. He would be kicked out of there much faster. Sollux just saw it as a temporary discount on his own rent for the loss of couch use and putting up with some asshole during the day. He didn’t think much of the situation, of which Eridan was thankful. Karkat, however, sounded pissed off in just his text messages that day. Eridan supposed he deserved it.

“Fuck!”

Eridan looked up from the dirty pavement, watching some woman frantically digging through her purse, lighter in one hand, the other buried deep in the bag. It took him by surprise as he caught himself staring at her, long black hair slightly dampened by the rain, dressed in a red miniskirt with leopard print tights, and leather jacket much like his own. He didn’t know what possessed him to withdraw his nearly empty pack of cigarettes as he stepped towards her.

“You want one?” he asked sheepishly.

She looked up at him, eyebrows raised in surprise. He saw her more clearly now, face flushed from the chilly air, lips painted a peculiar shade of dark blue, eyes rimmed with black kohl. A pair of thick-framed glasses sat on the end of her nose as she looked at the cigarettes offered to her. “Uh, yeah. Sure. Thanks.” She stepped towards the wall of the building with him after taking one, trying to stay dry under the tiny ledge. She lit it up, taking a drag while his eyes remained fixed on her. On closer inspection, he could see tiny blue streaks matching her lipstick in the bottom layers of her hair. She gave him a sideways glance as she exhaled smoke.

“Hi, I’m, um... I’m Eridan, by the way.” Was he stammering? He never stammered.

She frowned, looking him up and down suspiciously. “Vriska,” she returned politely. She looked away again, undoubtedly glancing around the corner for her bus.

He toyed with on of his last smokes in his hand before taking out his lighter, flicking it roughly. It sparked, producing no flame before Vriska offered the end of her cigarette for him. She smirked mischievously, a glitter of deep blue eyes coming from inside the thick black liner. He lit his cigarette, returning a smile and twiddled his fingers nervously.

“So what’s a sopping wet punk doing out here anyway?” Vriska asked. She had a deep, smooth voice despite the smoking.

“Oh, just... Waiting for my bus.”

“No, I get that, I mean, where are you going? This stop only has buses leaving downtown, I’d think people like you would be hanging around here more.”

He raised an eyebrow at her, tempted to say something as a retort. He couldn’t place her expression. “No, just going home.”

She faked a yawn, placing her hand to her mouth. “Booooooooring,” she said in a singsong voice. “Well I’m going home, too. I’m having a party tonight at my house. If you have nothing better to do than go home, you should come along.”

“When’s that?”

“Right now.” She stepped forward, seeing her bus come into view, slowing down as it approached the stop. She motioned with her head to follow and he felt himself being pulled towards her, dropping his barely smoked cigarette on the ground.

“Right, I’ll be honest, I did live downtown, but I sort of got kicked out.” He was standing up against her on the bus as it rode by on the busy streets. She laughed and almost shrill laugh.

“Yeah, but who hasn’t been kicked out of this part of town? Fucking ridiculous the rent these days.” She was slightly taller than him in her high-heeled boots, making him feel even more intimidated by her. He was considering texting Karkat about the party happening, but on the cramped bus, he could barely reach his jeans pocket. They didn’t talk much for the remainder of the trip, but he followed her after they made it to the stop. They were outside a complex of townhouses as Vriska lead him towards her door, taking keys out of her pocket.

“Nobody’s here yet?”

She didn’t answer as she walked into the house, unzipping her boots on the doormat. He followed her lead until he met her in the kitchen, taking two bottles of different whiskeys from a closed cabinet. He felt strange in the quiet room, the only sound being the two glasses placed on the counter.

“Want a drink?”

“Sure?”

She didn’t wait for an answer as she poured a mixture of both drinks into each glass. Who the hell mixed different whiskeys?

“So this party,” Eridan began.

“There is no party.” She looked at him, amused by his dumbfounded expression. “Well, there is, but not until later. I’m just day drinking a little bit prior.”

He took the glass, unsure of where she was going. “So, what’s this then?”

Again she paused, taking a sip from her glass, trying to hide the cringe. “How old are you, Eridan?”

“I’m twenty-one. Why?”

“How old do you think I am?” Vriska lazily swished the whiskey around in her glass, looking at him with a smirk.

“I don’t know?”

She laughed, taking another drink. “Well, I’m thirty-one, thank you for not assuming anything.” Her face softened. “Look, I don’t mean to weird you out or whatever, I just thought you were kinda cool.”

It was his turn to not reply, drinking from his glass of whiskey, finding the combination of Jack Daniel’s and Crown Royal not too terrible. There was clearly some sort of ulterior motive to her unexpected invitation to her home. Usually it took him quite a few dates to even get anywhere near a woman’s house. “I’m cool?”

“Yeah. What, I mean, you’ve got cool purple hair and shit. And can I just take a wild guess and say you were probably on your way to your friend’s house to crash on his couch while he doesn’t actually want you there but he cares too much to let you live on the streets. And maybe you just wanted to stay downtown because, hey, it’s where all the cool people hang out, you have nothing but a good time there and...”

Eridan stared, silent as she told his story straight to his face. She continued.

“That was me about ten years ago. It’s not such a long time.” A genuine and warm smile came to her face this time, and Eridan returned it. “We’re not so much different. So what do you say, wanna ditch your drag of a friend and fool around a little?”

He was in mid-gulp of whiskey when he nearly choked on it. “You mean like...?”

She nodded, eyes wide with a patronizingly obvious expression. “Yeah, I mean like.”

He was in no place to deny a place to stay for the night, but soon she was on him, hands on his shoulders, their heights being nearly exact. His heart pounded as he placed his hands on her waist, down to her hips, feeling her curves. At the bus stop he couldn’t take his eyes off of her, and now he couldn’t keep his hands off of her. She quickly took him to her bed, and they lay sweetly together afterwards until there was a knock at the door, indicating the first party guests. Soon enough the house was full of strangers he paid no attention to as he downed drink after drink, passing out somewhere before being rested on her couch for the night.

to: Eridan  
from: Karkat

[18:27] Hey, we’re getting some Chinese food for tonight, see you whenever.  
[19:18] Okay, shit, where are you, are you even there?  
[20:01] ALRIGHT MAN, WHAT THE FUCK?  
[20:02] YOU KNOW IT’S TAKING ALL MY WARMTH AND GENEROSITY TO LET YOU CRASH HERE FOR A BIT, THE LEAST YOU COULD DO IS FUCKING ANSWER ME.  
[22:37] What the fuck man, not fucking cool.

[9:34] hey nevermind, i’ve found a new place already.

The following days were some of the best in his life. He worked his shifts, came home in the evening to find her prancing around the kitchen as she made some exotic dish from scratch. Apparently she worked from home on her laptop all day, and had a passion for cooking. Later on they always drank, or went to bars or parties, usually getting smashed out of their minds only to wake up piled on top of each other. Other nights were reserved for multiple rounds of sex, which was sometimes put off until the middle of the afternoon the next day. She could have easily tired him out, but never showed any sign of slowing down herself.

He had been at Vriska’s house for a few weeks before running into one of her exes in the diner where many of their “dates” took place. The man wasn’t that big, but he was angry to see Eridan seated across from her. He went on a tirade, calling her a slut before Eridan stood up abruptly, puffing out his chest and challenging the man. When one of the waiters called out to them, Vriska grabbed his hand and they made a run for the exit. They sprinted down the dark sidewalk illuminated by the warm glow of streetlamps, Vriska’s hair flowing behind her like a mass of black and blue ribbons. She laughed joyfully as he trailed behind her, sprinting as fast as he could, not even checking if they had been followed. He had to laugh with her as they rounded a corner, finding the open door of a bar. She walked in, but his shoulder was grabbed by the bouncer, demanding ID. Vriska didn’t wait for him as he promptly made her way to the bar as he scrambled to open his wallet, displaying his driver’s license. He was let in, trying to find her in the dimly lit bar. He sat next to her on a bar stool as she ignored the man beside her, already trying to buy her a drink. She turned to look at Eridan, eyes lit up and face flushed from the run. The grin on her face expressed nothing but joy and adrenaline, and she practically glowed with the rush of running from her ex-lover. Ten years really wasn’t such a large gap between them.

Of course it had to end at some point. It was at that time, only two months after meeting her that he was packing his things, listening to her scathing remarks as he shoved T-shirts into a backpack. He got to her house and she was tipsy on her whiskey concoction, saying things like they couldn’t keep seeing each other, listing bullshit reason after bullshit reason. His heart broke on the spot, seeing her anger, her insults completely thoughtless and cruel. She never wanted to see him again. It was a mistake from the beginning. She only used him for sex. He didn’t need to hear much until he was out the door, the rain only starting to mist down on the city. He took out his phone.

to: Karkat  
from: Eridan

[22:24] hey. im really sorry but you got an open couch at all?

[22:26] Oh. She dumped you already. BIG FUCKING SURPRISE. Yeah fine, you naive idiot.

Karkat provided absolutely no moral support whatsoever, taking every chance he got to say, “I told you so.” Eridan found himself looking for his own place a lot harder than he ever had before. He never saw much of Vriska after that. She texted him once to apologize for being so rude, but he never replied. She moved away a year later, getting a full-time job in some big city across the country. He didn’t forget her, though it was a whole fifteen years before he was ever actively reminded of her once again.

Kanaya had been a mutual friend of them both, and when her mother died after a long fight with lung cancer, everyone she ever knew came to the funeral. It was there Eridan was still unchanged. He had a significantly better job, living in high-rise condo with a beautiful view of the coast with his wife Feferi. They had no children. Before they met up with Kanaya, Fef touched his hand and nodded towards the back of the front hall. She was no stranger to the appearance of Vriska, sitting beside Kanaya, holding the hand of the hunched-over figure. Fifteen years had passed since they last saw each other. Eridan at the age of thirty-six, grumbled at the need to dye over her prematurely graying hair. Vriska hardly looked older from what he could see. Save for her thinner lips, still painted the same signature blue, and a few lines, she looked no different from the day he met her. Even the blue in her hair was still there, albeit darker, and more like toned highlights than streaks.

Feferi had left to comfort Kanaya as he sat alone in the chair in front hall of the funeral home. He tried tracing patterns on his shoes with his eyes, occupying his mind until a pair of black kitten heels appeared in front of him.

“Want one?” a familiar voice asked. He looked up, seeing the older Vriska extending and arm, holding a pack of cigarettes in front of him. He smiled, shaking his head.

“I don’t smoke.”

She shrugged, putting them away in her purse. “I don’t really, either, I just thought because of the occasion.” She sat next to him, avoiding eye contact, clenching her hands together.

“So what have you been up to?”

“Oh, not a lot.” She trailed off, a hint of sadness in her voice. “I got married, couldn’t have kids, though, thank god...” She was looking up at Feferi and Kanaya hugging. “I guess you’ve got a good life, huh?”

“You could say that, yeah.” He taps his fingers on his knees, feeling awkward next to the woman he dated, let alone had even seen, years ago.

“I married John, if you didn’t know. It’s pretty good.”

Eridan nodded. “Well, listen, I should go see Kan. Maybe we could catch up some time.”

Vriska shook her head. “Probably best if we don’t. This was enough for me.”

He stood up, giving her a cocky look. She smirked right back at him. “Ten years, Vris. The hell were we thinking?”

“Not such a long time.”

**Author's Note:**

> Shamelessly ripped off lyric-by-lyric from "Your Younger Man" by the World/Inferno Friendship Society.


End file.
